Matthew Hockley (born 5 June 1982) is an English former professional footballer, who plays for Bideford. He can play in defence or midfield. Hockley was born in Paignton, Devon and joined

Torquay United Torquay United Football Club is a professional football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the , the fifth tier of English football. They have played their home matches at Plainmoor since 1921 and are nicknamed ...

as a trainee. He turned professional in July 2000 and made his first-team debut in the 1-1 draw at home to Southend United in the FA Cup 1st Round on 18 November 2000. His league debut came the following week in a 2-1 home win against

Barnet Barnet may refer to: People *Barnet (surname) * Barnet (given name) Places United Kingdom *Chipping Barnet or High Barnet, commonly known as Barnet, one of three focal towns of the borough below. *East Barnet, a district of the borough below; an ...

. He made sporadic appearances over the next two seasons before becoming a regular under

Leroy Rosenior Leroy De Graft Rosenior (born 24 August 1964) is a football coach and pundit. He is a former footballer whose clubs included Fulham, Queens Park Rangers (for whom he appeared as a substitute in the 1986 League Cup Final), Bristol City and Wes ...

, missing only one game in the 2003-04 promotion season. He is nicknamed 'Pitbull' due to his tenacious tackling. In May 2005, he accepted a new contract with Torquay and in the 2006-07 season made his 200th first team appearance for the Gulls. His 200th league appearance came on 2 March 2007 in a 1-1 draw away to Chester City, Hockley replacing

Lloyd Kerry Lloyd Kerry (born 22 July 1988) is an English former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Career Sheffield United Born in Chesterfield, Derbyshire, Kerry began his career as a trainee with Sheffield United. He turned professiona ...

as a late substitute. Torquay were relegated to the

Conference National The National League, known as the Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest level of the National League System and fifth-highest of the overall English football league system. It is the highest league that is semi-profes ...

at the end of the 2006-07 season, but Hockley chose to remain with the club, agreeing a new contract with new Torquay manager Paul Buckle. He was an unused substitute in Torquay's

FA Trophy The Football Association Challenge Trophy, commonly known as the FA Trophy, is a men's football knockout cup competition run by and named after the English Football Association and competed for primarily by semi-professional teams. The compet ...

Final defeat at Wembley in May 2008, and was released by Torquay three days later. Hockley joined

Truro City Truro City Football Club ( kw, Klub Peldroes Truru) is an English football club based in Truro, Cornwall. They currently play in the Southern League, at the seventh tier of the English football league system. They are the highest ranked clu ...

in June 2008. After 1 season at Truro City he then moved onto Bideford on a free transfer. His brother Wayne was also a professional with Torquay United.

All time playing career

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hockley, Matthew 1982 births Living people People from Paignton English men's footballers Torquay United F.C. players Truro City F.C. players Dereham Town F.C. players Bideford A.F.C. players Men's association football midfielders Footballers from Devon